PPM wins most seats but fails to secure a majority
(CNS): 3:00am. With the votes now counted and the results in, the only thing that is certain is that there are several new faces heading to parliament following the 2025 General Election. But still to be decided is who will be the next premier and which candidates will be sitting on the government front benches. The PPM has secured the largest number of seats with seven candidates after a number of close races, but they are still three short of a majority.
With the support of Chris Saunders (IND) they are in the best position to woo the three successful independent candidates and form a coalition government. But it’s by no means a certainty.
The CINP have bagged four seats, as have TCCP, which means that if those two parties join forces as expected, they would also have eight seats and a chance of forming a government if they can secure the support of at least two of the three independent candidates — Jay Ebanks, Isaac Rankine and Rolston Anglin.
Meanwhile, alongside an overwhelming rejection by voters of cruise berthing facilities, Cayman has also voted to decriminalize ganja and introduce a national lottery.
2:00am: In what will likely be the biggest shocker of the evening, Julie Hunter has taken Cayman’s biggest political scalp and toppled veteran politician McKeeva Bush from his West Bay West Seat after forty years. CNS understands that there were several recounts, with the result that Hunter beat Bush by just nine votes. She is now the third CINP candidate to take a seat, putting the anticipated PPM-led coalition in jeopardy.
With just a few seats left to declare, the possibility of a CINP-TCCP coalition is now on the cards.
1:30am: As the general election count gets down to the wire, Heather Bodden and Wayne Panton have taken their respective seats in Savannah and Newlands for TCCP. Meanwhile, the referendum result has thrown up an overwhelming vote against cruise berthing. A spokesperson for CPR Cayman, which led the campaign for a ‘no’ vote, told CNS that with around 66% of the vote, the people had spoken.
“Looking at the results, there is no longer any doubt that the people have spoken loud and clear,” the grassroots activist stated. “Given the overwhelming results, the new government has to honour the result and understand the people have used their voices on this matter regarding building any proposed cruise berthing infrastructure or facility in the future.”
12:50am: Roy Tatum has taken Red Bay in a very competitive race with less than 32% of the vote. Tatum’s win, however narrow, means the Progressives may be able to form the next government in a coalition after Julianna O’Connor-Connolly pushed out Dan Scott, the CINP leader in Cayman Brac East, with more than 55% of the vote in the Cayman Islands’ smallest constituency.
But it’s down to Roy McTaggart, Dwayne Seymour and Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden, who are clinging to narrow leads, if the Progressives are to get the closest to a majority.
12:30am: Sabrina Turner (TCCP) has become the first incumbent casualty of the night, losing her Prospect seat to Michael Myles by just 16 votes. Myles has secured the second seat so far for the CINP, while his party colleague, Bud Johnson, is trailing PPM incumbent Roy McTaggart by just 11 votes in GTE, with more than a third of the vote still to be counted.
Meanwhile, veteran politician McKeeva Bush is trailing his CINP rival by 11 votes in the first count from WBW, as Julie Hunter takes aim at the biggest political scalp on the election map.
MIDNIGHT: Nickolas Dacosta has become the first of the CINP candidates to secure a seat, beating out Lonny Tibbetts (IND) in CBWLC. DaCosta took almost 55% of the vote in the head-to-head race. Meanwhile, his party colleague, Bud Johnson, is on the heels of incumbent Roy McTaggart (PPM) in GTE with around two-thirds of the vote counted and only 11 votes between them. Sabrina Turner (TCCP) has edged ahead of Michael Myles, the CINP candidate, in Prospect.
11:30pm: Joey Hew, the PPM leader, has already been declared the winner in GTN with around 70% of the vote in a head-to-head race against Romellia Welcome. Isaac Rankine (UPM-IND) has taken his seat in a five-way race with 52% of the vote in East End, while Rolston Anglin is almost certainly winning in WBN with more than half the vote in the bag and only 28% of the vote left to count.
In the first potential shocker of the night, Robert Bodden with TCCP has taken a very small early lead against the incumbent Dwayne Seymour with the PPM in Bodden Town East. Jay Ebanks has a clear lead in North Side and is on track to take back the seat from his PPM challenger, Justin Ebanks.
And with around 40% of the count completed in the referendum, Cayman is still saying no to cruise berthing and a likely yes to the decriminalisation of ganja and a national lottery.
Earlier posts:
11:00pm: The first results from across the Cayman Islands are, as expected, favouring the incumbents with Juliana O’Connor-O’Connolly, Joey Hew, Kenneth Bryan and Roy McTaggart taking an early lead in their respective districts for the PPM. TCCP leader André Ebanks, as well as Wayne Panton and Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, have also taken early leads in their seats, while Sabrina Turner appears to be in a very tight race with Michael Myles in Prospect.
Chris Saunders (IND) has also taken the lead and is looking very likely to retain his BTW seat.
Meanwhile, CINP candidates Gary Rutty and Nickolas DaCosta have taken an early lead in the open seats of GTS and CBWLC, while Roy Tatum is leading in Red Bay for the PPM. In West Bay, Rolston Anglin is leading the result, while Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden is edging ahead of Craig Merren after the first results came in for George Town West.
After a third of the referendum vote has been counted, the ‘no’ vote is holding strong to cruise berthing, while Cayman is favouring both the decriminalisation of ganja and the introduction of a national lottery.
Category: 2025 General Elections, Elections, Politics
People have short memories. Rolston Anglin the “new” hero who will manage the finances and education of this country.
https://caymannewsservice.com/elections2021/2021/03/candidates-duck-qa-forums/
From disgraced loser politician to country leader and savior. LOL
maybe PPM shouldn’t have played such dirty politics! God don’t like ugly and they are right where they deserve to be!!
Can we all agree to vote Cayman Brac east out of Cayman. Clearly they have a average IQ of 70. The rest of us should not have to suffer Julie any longer.
Same crap, different order but one less criminal with one still in his seat.
The Cayman Islands just were so busy trashing the only established party, that they just elected a government made up of 2 parties with different agendas and a small group of independent’s who joined them under the condition of personal gain. I’m not sure when the public will realize that these people run as independents solely to have bargaining power with whichever government forms. If this coalition government forms with TCCP and CINP, this country will be crying in 2 years. The same as 2024.
2 years is generous, I give them 6 months to a year before they fall apart and blame PPM.
As much as I’m uncertain about CINP, it’s time for them to merge with TCCP and bring in Rolston and Isaac! Dan didn’t win so give Andre the Premiership. We cannot afford another PPM disaster. And please leave out Saunders (Bodden Town clearly has learned nothing).
I started working in 1975 and all my friend had a dream to get a job and to own their own home and drive their own car!
That was the dream!
But we really brought in too many foreigners and now we are just like Kingston, La Ceiba, Miami, Toronto, London, New Delhi, Manilla, Port of Spain and the Cayman Dream is dead.
Only the rich will survive!
It’s been a while since I’ve read this much ordure. Caymanians got greedy and done over their fellow Caymanians. Simple as that. These foreigners that you speak of had money to burn and Caymanians had the land to sell to them. Basic economics. Half a dozen or so families could smell the money and to hell with the future. YOUR future!
How is Wayne still relevant after failing as premier before?
Now we pretend Andre is actually the guy?
Only as a puppet lol
He paid for a lot of propaganda. After that he uses “loans” to get candidates to join him.
People don’t understand he will recover this money some way when in office. This is not free or for the betterment of Cayman
Dan couldn’t help himself but go after Julie instead of picking an easier seat. good riddance unless we get our own version of Elon
Now Gary who said publicly he doesn’t care if he wins or loses is head of them? lovely
Guess we might end up with another 4 years of flip flopping between wayne and others before we realize in 4 years nothing happened…again.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Enter Andre and Wayne. Cayman will be in a mess again very soon.
To be fair to Dan she did say she was retiring.
He is a fool if he believed that – just sayin.
Some people are honest and decent, so they take people at their word, but some people are just liars and don’t have a decent bone in their body and shouldn’t be trusted at all! I guess the narcissist couldn’t bare the thought of not having a school named after them!
CBE asked him to run after she said that she was retiring but the power went to her head. Anyway, JuJu tek dat. You won the battle but lost the war. You couldn’t buy out Grand Cayman. At least some of them got sense.
Congrats Nicholas. At least some CYB West and LYB couldn’t be bought out and voted right.
when will the people of Cayman will stop keep on putting back in PPM when they don’t do anything but to just put cayman in so much debt stop recycling them over and over every 4 years some of us complained about this and that we want change and yesterday we had that chance for the change and that was a big failed but let’s see what the 1st 100 days will be like in office if things will change or it will be the same, there was one history that was made and that was Big Mac losing his seat to his own family member which it’s about time for him to take a seat around his eating table in his home the time has come to throw in the towel,hat,Jesus not only took the wheel last night he took the whole car, bus truck, I just hope and pray that CINP and TCCP will come together to form a Government but knowing the recycling bin PPM they will do anything just to take control with doing things behinds closed doors with deals under the table just run Cayman to the ground again for the next 4 years.
If I were Sabrina Turner in Prospect, I would demand a recount. The numbers are way too close and the 17 spoilt ballots may have very well changed the outcome for the Prospect seat.
BTW anyone else concerned by the high number of spoilt ballots for all constituencies? Almost 25% of votes cast were spoilt.
The whole ballot wasn’t considered spoiled. Just the particular question(s). Many people didn’t mark every referendum question, which led to votes for the candidates, votes for the referendum questions that were marked, and a spoil count for the referendum questions that weren’t marked. No conspiracies here.
I looked at my card and nearly spoilt my ballot. Then I held my nose and voted. So, no, I’m not surprised by the ‘high’ number. Especially as people may have come out to vote for a referendum question but not a politician. (Or vice versa in the referendum ‘spoilt ballots’.)
To the people that voted No to the cruise port and then voted for the PPM candidate… why? You are aware than referendums are non binding so if PPM forms the government your efforts were pointless, you understand that right? Or did you truly believe that the people who have been trying to force this project through for the last decade are suddenly going to care about “the will of the people”?
Alas, here we are. Every single career pollution responsible for putting us in the position we are currently in save for Mac has been re-elected and place in position to continue. We will continue to see record spending on projects that are never finished, our standard of living will continue to fall while the cost of living rises, the corruption and horse trading will continue and we Caymanians will continue to complain how much the fire burns while refusing to take our hand out of the flames.
We did it to ourselves and it will be our fault. We rewarded the bad behavior.
They are (politically) uneducated voters with zero analytical skills. Lord help us.
If you think any port is being built in Cayman in the next decade, you need your head checked.
Donkey Rider for Premier!!!!!
That must be John/John
Dan Scott’s money bought a few CINP seats but wasn’t enough to buy his own. Oh the irony.
Correct, ask around Windsor Park and Prospect how much money was being thrown around and “favours” done. Blatant vote buying. Another candidate in Newlands was also sending people to get “free sunglasses”. All well known on the road and all completely ignored by Elections Office.
At 11:47am, no one paid me a cent or did anything for me and I still voted for change so…
Ego is as Ego does
If Dan Scott was buying votes, he would have won.
You clearly don’t know the moto – eat em out, drink em out, vote em out. People take the money and still don’t vote for them. There is no way to check. Heard one guy say that Dan fixed his roof and he was grateful, but he didn’t trust him so voted for Julie because you can trust her to take care of her CB people.
That it is up to independents? Ha! We know Anglin and Saunders will RUN to PPM (shameless sell outs!) Let us hope the voters that elected the remaining two steer them to CINP and TCCP. If we leave Cayman in the hands of a PPM-led government again, in two years the coffers will be empty; our children will be completely illiterate, and we will be homeless, bankrupt and unemployed. And please, if other than PPM gets to form a government, do not take Julianna. Leave that useless piece of … where she chose to be.
I should know better by now, but I really can’t believe these fools woted Cola Kenny, Dumb as f*** Dumb and Ju “Speaking in tongues Ju back in. They are 3 of the worst people to have ever represented the people of The Cayman Islands. It boggles the mind! Good to see the woman beater finally unemployed though.
In other words, give it 15-18 months and we will have JuJu as premier again. The more things change…
So which consultant is going to get the juicy contract to tell us that the Cayman population is too small to support a viable lottery?
That doesn’t happen until AFTER it has had two consecutive years of losses, which to you and I mean two years after it starts.
Well, the Bodden Towners have spoken; that district is no longer for the Boddens. The blind could have seen this, but ya all were drinking that haterade Sandra was serving. Ya all were also fooled by underestimating the silent majority who are not commenting on public forums but show up on election day. The average voter is 53yrs old, they are not your keyboard warriors spending hours per day on social media. The reality of the situation is that most of the people commenting here clearly aren’t able to vote, so, from us, the voters, can you hear me now?
I’m 26 years old, and this was my third time casting a vote against Bryan Dwayne “Donkeyman” Seymour—yet nothing has changed. I’m drained. Disillusioned. It feels like BTE is a lost cause. He’s worshipped like a god by people who refuse to see the damage, and honestly, I don’t think he’ll ever be unseated. It’s like shouting into a void.
Truth be told, the CINP should have gotten a better candidate. You were left to choose between terrible and clueless. I encourage you and your age peers to start looking at potential contenders from now and build them up with community work.
He can be unseated but not by the options they have been given.
I know a few individuals around your age and younger who voted for him. The anti-jamaica sentiment will not work there or BTW. All they hear is “I don’t like you, nor your kind”. So really, why would they vote for some who does not like them or support them?
For some reason the other parties refuse to realize they have to accept the Jamaican-Caymanian community that lives there to win anything.
TERM LIMITS
That’s me except it’s Julianna but the few non-corrupt voters can’t vote her out. Free trips for school children, free lunches, free schooling, free laptops, free lockers even though the PTA had raised most of the money for them (she made the PTA give money back to the parents even though the public donated to the children for the lockers), free ice cream for the school children, contracts for the new school, etc etc
Gen Z , you are outnumbered by Jamaicans who will vote for Saunders and really oh so effingdumb every time.
Suggest Caymanians start to reproduce Caymanians at a faster rate than the Jams.
Have Caymanians learned nothing?? I’m glad we got Mckeeva out but the rest of them, really?? We say we don’t want another PPM government and here they go electing the same PPM people. I don’t want to hear any Caymanians complain the next four years but you’re gonna get what voted for!
PPM didn’t get back in. Kenny and Juju are not PPM and will flip in a second. Many races amazingly tight. Should awaken many of you to the fact that this website and others tend to be echo chambers of your (our) views, so stop being surprised when what you’re telling yourself doesn’t happen. This was always going to be a split race, and it is. the only reason PPM seem to have more seats is because they horse traded ahead of time with Ken/Juju/etc. But this is a 3-way race for the Indies.
More politricks from Panton? After blaming all of them he will be calling offering more “loans”.
I don’t want to see another post where people claim that expats are destroying Cayman.
The 680 Caymanians that voted for Jon Jon are the problem.
They were probably a lot of status holders from Jam that voted for him.
They Caymaicans
That you don’t think they’re immigrants is hilarious.
Truly shocking that all that formed the last government got back in. WHY? WTAF did they do to deserve to keep their seats especially in light of the financial damage they have done.
SO DISAPPOINTING!
I hope julie is one of the seats. Please dont bring in Saunders. You have better people, even Wayne Heather Roy
I’m not sure who is more scary Saunders or Julie.
YES! The quitters are still there!
Even when presented with more astute choices, Cayman’s electorate continue to select corruption and non-performance. This is our signal to sell and move.
Promise?? 😍
Can you list your block and parcel so we can watch for it to go on the market?
You can’t afford it, government has put in an offer! Enjoy your ride!
You’re the one that has to sell, brokie, not me. *You* can’t afford it. 😂
Difference between ‘want’ to and ‘can’t’afford to, ‘brokie’, good luck!
lol. Don’t sell. Just charge crazy high rent. Someone will take it.
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victims; they are accomplices” — George Orwell. Seven seats to the same group that ***ed us over during twenty years. Housing crisis, sale of land, concessions, unemployment, minimum wage, all thanks to them. Sickening.
At least CBW & LYB has some integrity. West Bay finally made the right choice but CBE is drinking the JuJu Kool-Aid. I’m afraid there is no hope for them. They are so used to the hand outs that they can’t think for themselves. The young people that don’t leave will continue to be hooked on drugs and alcohol and receive handouts. I must say that seeing that result this morning made me feel like there is no hope for Cayman Brac. My only hope is that PPM doesn’t get to be the next government.
So, how does it work? is it like announcing a new pope? Does all of Cayman wait for a sign, like gray smoke rising from the dump, to announce a new lineup of useful idiots and principles forgotten?
juliana back in???what a joke, john john, saunders???shows how stupid weez people t
One word for CBE: Bought
You meant CBE could not be bought by Scott’s money.
Why would they, when they have been bought with their own money for so long.
Give it some thought.
I swear you should only get a vote if you pass an IQ test… a bit like a drivers license, but not a Caymanian one – a real one.
What do you mean “principles forgotten”?
Most of this lot never had any principles to begin with, other than to enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary Caymanian voters.
Caymanian politics is like a US High School’s ‘Model United Nations’.
…But in a ‘special school’.
McKeeva has finally been beaten by a woman! 👍👍👍. Makes a change form him beating up women.
I wonder if anyone in the household has fallen down any stairs today?
Also, what’s the look he needs to use now? is it with or without his courtroom walking aids?
🛑 I am begging all who voted for independents to please message them asking them not to sell out to PPM.
PPM have a cult following that’s why.
Based on debt creation, non-performance, backroom giveaway deals, and interference? Who does that serve?
Cultists are seldom logical or rational.
Stupid Cults.
PPM.. duh
The Lodge.
7.20. Never heard Jamaicans referred to as Cults..a label which could also be extended to their pro pier posse who are praying for a PPM government.
They know Kenneth will ignore the overwhelming NO response to cruise piers.
My guess is they will try to form a CINP/TCCP government with independents, mess Cayman up for 3.5 years, quit and then try and blame the PPM again.
To 7:09am Be quiet (I am trying my best to be civilized and not write what I am really wishing to say). Seven seats to a bunch of sell-outs. I hope to God the independents show respect for their constituencies and join with CINP and TCCP and send your (garbage) lot back to opposition. The dump is where they deserve to be!
“(I am trying my best to be civilized and not write what I am really wishing to say)”
Average TCCP voter resisting bullying tactics
Fine! I wanted to say shut the @%# up. There. You happy?
So 9% of the population, assuming it is 100K decides the fate of us all. God help us.
No. 9% of the population has to live with the decision. The other 91% have choices.
Technically, when you consider the purse string holders and puppet masters, you’re really looking at less than 1%.
so what would you prefer? tell us.
Its an island full of expats who cannot vote and should not be able to vote like what you expect?
bye
Not all 100K were born here, so they can decide their fate in their own country if they so wish…
As expats, we vote with our wallet. You can choose to stay and fund the government by work permits, duties, and other fees, or you can leave.
So another mess.
Thanks to those West Bayers who finally slayed the teflon don. Every vote counted.
The vote splitters handed some seats to a still unpopular PPM, who despite winning the most seats, are not exactly turning the islands red. JuJu reinforces that there’s some kind of partial blindness with Brac voters. BT, affected by the splitters, but that area needs to do better, returning fools to power.
Ah well. Let the back stabbing and double dealing commence!
No vote splitting in BT east 6:42. John John has a huge Jamaican following who will elect him for life because he is just like them and even loves their ghetto culture. The thumping bass music went on into the night last night. Robert Bodden was uninspiring so that didn’t help.
Roy McT Pleas please leave now and join the TCCP and CINP group to save Cayman.
Now, can we use those former billboards for actual good?
Now add messages reminding people how to drive, and not be cretins.
DON’T USE HIGH BEAM AT ONCOMING TRAFFIC
DON’T LITTER
DRIVE IN THE LEFT LANE
SPEED LIMITS ARE NOT ADVISORY
Most aren’t using high beam… just left hand drive. So the headlights are aimed wrong
Which our laws USED TO mandate were switched before the first period of the vehicle being licensed. From the 70’s if I recall correctly.
Nope, they’re using high beams. With most Hondas, which make up most vehicles, you can see the high beam bulbs on, a little more central to the regular headlight beam.
LHD vehicles tend to blind just for a few moments.
Amen to all that.
The overwhelming majority of negative comments in CNS leading up to the election – well they did not come to fruition about the winner of CBE.
Not only did the hated/despised JUJU defend and win her seat – but she got more votes than the other 4 candidates combined.
I will admit to being surprised that Mac was defeated – that is the biggest story of the night.
I think the Brac is an anomaly. By its nature it’s an inward looking area, dominated by friends, close friends, acquaintances, and family ties. A massive amount of votes (by %) are swayed purely by links to the person, nothing to do with policies.
Therefore, it’s really no surprise that the flexible shape-shifting incumbent kept her seat. If she ran in GC, she’d stand zero chance.
Bet Dan is so mad he didn’t run in Prospect or Red Bay.
He wouldn’t win in either of those places. Pay attention. When you look at who attended his CB rallies, it was mostly his family. That’s were his support came from. None of that in those 2 constituencies.
CBE bought. I don’t think anyone realized how far she would go to secure that seat.I’m so sorry for the Dan supporters because she is very vindictive and will make their lives hell.
Good riddance to McKeeva, at last.
He may not have a seat inside, but his tendrils are still in everything. Even Kurt Tibbitts from PPMs past, is still around meddling in things.
He was ineligible 4 years ago. A simple challenge should suffice.
Be prepared for Julianna to move sides to whoever leads the next government. She may have ran PPM but she will want a ministry and flip flops to suit that need.
Disappointed she will get back in.
I’ve heard they use her dresses as the wind sock at Cayman airports, since they blow so easily depending on the wind direction.
And can be seen from any part of Cayman
To the younger generations of Caymanians—
It’s over. This country is not going to change. The people in power have been selling us out for decades, and they’ll keep doing it because no one’s holding them accountable. Cayman is being hollowed out from the inside, and the majority of people are too blind, too lazy, or too comfortable to care.
Every election, the same corrupt names show up, make fake promises, hand out free stuff, and people fall for it. Again and again. It’s pathetic.
And when this place finally collapses—when the cost of living crushes families, when there are no jobs left for locals, when our identity is completely wiped out—guess who will be crying? The same ones who sold their votes for a gas voucher or a grocery bag. The same ones who defended the status quo like fools.
Let’s be clear: Cayman is on a downward spiral, and if you’re waiting for some magical reform, you’re wasting your life. Educate yourself. Learn how the real world works. Make a plan. Get out if you have to. Because this country is not looking out for you. It’s finished.
If Cayman won’t change, don’t go down with it. Build your life somewhere that gives a damn about your future.
This is the correct advice, but unfortunately it is a vicious circle: all the intelligent, well-educated and competent Caymanians go into the private sector, leaving just the dregs of humanity to stand for election.
Hence the politicians are exclusively selected from the stupid, the uneducated, the incompetent and the corrupt.
And thus the downward spiral accelerates.
Hmm @11:53, you have a point but Dennis Foster said the same thing to some of us 40 years ago and indeed he got out to Costa Rica but then things didn’t work out down there and meanwhile Cayman “prospered”.
Lots of under the table deals went down